Welder&#39;s clamp



Feb. 15, 1949. F, P, Hor-FELD 2,46L687 WELDERS CLAMP Filed July 19, 1946 Patented Feb. 15, 1949 Y2,461,687 v WELDERS CLAMP Fred?. vHersfeld-Elmwood Park, Ill., assignor'to 'AGrandi-Specialties Company, Chicago', Ill., a corr :porationfof Illinois .Application luly19, 194,6, Serial No. ,684,974

-1 Claim.

rv'Thisinvention relatesto A"clamps and VYmore particularly to clamps ,of the type'eespecially adapted toA ho1d-work1which is beingwelded-dur- *ing an'electric arc-Welding operation.

-In-electric"arc welding-it is necessary` that a "closed circuit be establishedfrom a power source through the weldingrod, the workupon which .the-weldingoperation isfbeing performed, and Lback` to the power source. For thisl purpose the Jwelding 1rod vis usually connected to the power Vsource'by a cableand another cable connects `vthe other side' ofthe power'source to the-work. -It isa primary-object of-rny invention tolconstruct-f-a-"clamp which is adapted to retainwork during an electric arc Welding operation and whichtprovides 4a readily accessible connecting 'member-to 'which the terminal of the cable, by *which the'wo'rk is "connected'to thepower source,

Amay be connected.

"'It is another object ofmy invention, ancilliary tothe foregoing, to construct `a` welding vclamp in #such afmanner that the terminale-which yis provided for connection to the work connecting cable of the welding apparatus may be -so posi- -tionedby-theaoperator 'that it does not interfere lwith the 'welding operation.

'It is a further object-of my invention to asso- Aciate the elementsof a'welding clamp in such a lmannery that the feed screw 'thereoi'may be readily adjusted.

'Other and 'further objects of the* present in- 'vention will-be apparent` from the following'description' an'd claims yand. are illustrated inthe accompanying drawing which, by way of'illustration, shows-a preferred embodiment of the present-invention and 'the principles thereof and Awhat'it'now` consider-to be the besty mod ein which 'I` have contemplated" applying. theseu principles. -Other' embodiments of "the 'inventionembodying fthef-same" or equivalent principlesv may bev `used and structural' changes-'maybe fmade as Vdesired 5byfthoseskilled in the art Without departing from lthe'present* invention'landthe purview of the 'appendedclaim.

f" Inl the di'awings:

ig; 1i i is f a @side 'elevationa1--fview ofva e welding clamp; illustrating my invention "as vit Vvwould 4'appear holding a piece of'fworkY and connected to a terrninalo'ffan` 'electric arcfwelding apparatus; 21'is afftopil elevational yview `of fthe fclamp -tallwalongtthezlmelA-edifi friert.

Von` theieed screw `I"I. A handle 24' is" attached to the fouter lend'4 'portion ofithe f' feedscrew I1 ,means such as a pin 2l.

`2`I being vformed in'thej block '25;

or' feed screw I 'I .extendsv through the'upper 'end portion ofthe sloty I6, the upper endportionio'f the slot Ibeing substantially complementary in shape, vbut slightly .larger than the-feed screwiA `I:'I

longitudinal direction; therethrough.

A leverl I8 havinga Serratededge I9-and-a thumbv piece 20 is pivotally mounted within' k'the lowerend portion of` the slot 'I6 Lbyany-'suitable The; teeth or threads forming the serrations on the serrated edge I 9-of the'` lever4 I8 are, complementary tothe'y threads formedon the feed screw I1. `'A spring 22:'is

mounted in a cavity 23 formed'in the-lowerportion ,of the lever I,8 andpresses vagainst the lower sur- `face v'of 'the 4slot [I5 'courge the'leveri-Ifto" pivot around the pin '2l vand maintain"thevthreads formed in the serrated ,iedge" portion i 9 Noffthe 1ever..]8 in engagement withthe threads* formed so .that the lfeed screwr `I 'I maybe 'readily turned either in a clockwise direction or in" a# counterclockwise direction (as viewed in Fig;-y 4) to thereby feed the screw- 'I 1 inwardly towardv the jaw :I I or withdraw it therefrom, respectively. Y

A block 25 'is-mountedonv the inner end portion of the feed screw l'lfby'a ball; and-socket connection; the" ball- 26 being formed onfthe inner end portion'ofthe feed-screw I1-and the socket A bolt or terminal post extends throughthe block=25, Aand the terminal" T lof fan' electric' arc-welding apparatus maybe secured'thereto bymeansiora; nut29. The block 25, because-of 'its ball -and'socketf-connection with the feedv screw II` "may be frotated with respectvto the longitudinalsaxisofrthe'feed screw I 'I and Atherefore' it will 4be 'notedzthat" the terminal T1maybe placed ainany. desirediposition there-:around When my clamp yis'used during a; weldingzopera.-

edge VI9 of the lever I8.

lever I8 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 1) 'so that the serrated edge I9 thereof is lowered out of engagement with the feed screw I1 and the feed screw I'I may then be slid inwardly to such a position that the end of the block 25 engages the other side of the work W. The thumb piece is then released permitting the spring 2 to pivot thev lever I8 in the other direction thus causing the serrated edge I9 thereof to again engage the threads on the feed screw I'I, and the feed screw I'I may then be advanced further into nal position, where-at it presses tightly against the-work W, by turning it in a clockwise direction. vIt will be noted in this connection that during the final adjustment of the'feed screw I'I, the wedging action of the threads thereon with respect to the threads formed on the serrated edge portion I9 of the lever I8 causes the lever IS to tend to rotate in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 1), thus wedging the teeth on the serrated edge I9 and the teeth on the feed screw I1 into such thumb piece 20 at this time is ineffective to cause release of the serrated edge I 9 from the feed yscrew I'I. In order for release of the feed screw I'I from the serrated edge of the lever I3 to be effected the feed screw I'I must first be backed off so that the wedging action between it and the lever I8 is relieved. ,Therefore it will be seen that during the final adjustment of my clamp, the turning of the feed screw I 1 so that the block is advanced inwardly provides a tight non-slip connection for the feed screw so that the work W is firmly held between the jaw I4 and block It will be noted that, because of the pivotal mounting of the lever I8, the initial or rough adjustment of the feed screw I'I may be made by merely pressing inwardly thereon and thereby causing it to slip over the teeth on the serrated However, because of the wear which would be caused to the threads on the feed screw I'I and the teeth of the lever I8,k this Yis not desirable as a general practice, and preferably, during the initial adjustment ci the feed screw I1, the lever I8 is disengaged Vtherefrom by pressing upwardly on the thumb manner, a good welding circuit is completed through the work W.

Also it will be noted that `with my novel clamp the terminal T may be turned into any desired position around the longitudinal axis of the screw I'I` so that it may be readily adjusted by the Welder to such a position that it does not interfere with the welding operation.'

Also it will be noted that provisions may be made for the passage of high orl low amperage through the work W without burning the work W at the point where the block 25 is connected-thereto by varying the size of the block 25 used. Thus when high amperages are necessary in a welding operation a larger block 25 would be used, and when lower amperages are all that are necessary, a smaller block 25 may be used.

*When 'the welding .operation has' been performed on a piece of work W and it isdesir'edA to lexchange the piece of work for another one, the

feed screw I'I may be turned so as to back the vtight connection that pressureapplied to the yoperation with respect to the newly positioned piece of work W, the very act of mounting the piece of work W within the clamp having established this connection.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a novel clamp which is especially well adapted fo-r holding a piece of work while engaged in an electrical arc welding operation thereon and whereby pieces of work may be quickly and easily mounted for the' electrical welding operation.

Also it will be noted that my clamp is sturdily constructed and provides both a rough and fine adjustment of the feed screw so that when it is necessary to move the feed screw I7 through a relatively great distance this may be easily. accomplished by releasing the serrated lever therefrom and manually and freely sliding the feed screw I'I into the desired position and also when it is desired to make the final fine adjustment of the screw II this may be performed by turning the feed screw and advancing the threads thereon over the threads in the serrated edge portion of the lever. j Y

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claim.

VI claim: p

A welders clamp for operatively holding and grounding a work piece during Aan electric welding operation comprising a vsubstantially jl.'- shaped body member including spaced substantially parallel legs and an interconnecting transverse portion, one leg constituting a fixed `jaw for engaging the work piece, the opposite leg having a feed screw receiving aperture extending therethrough in alignment with and perpendicular Vto the Xed jaw, said leg having a substantially rectangular slot depending from said aperture and in communication therewith and extending inwardly of the leg, the wall of the aperture having substantially seinicircular screw threads throughout its length on a portion thereof and the remaining portion of the aperture walls being smooth and a portion thereof being open and communicating with the slot, a threaded feed screw received within the aperture, said screw being of less diameter than said aperture, an operating handle on the outer end of said feed screw for rotating the same and for moving the screw toward and awayl from the fixed jaw, a latch member pivotally mounted within the slot and including an operating extension projecting outwardly of the slot exteriorly of the said leg and toward the operating handle, the other end of said latzh member having serrations thereon in the nature of threads foiengagement with the threads on the said fee-d screw, a 'bore within-said latch member in alignment with the said leg, a spring received within .the bore and having its outer end bearing against the base of thewall'of the said slot for normally forcing said serrated portions of said latch member into engagement with the threads of the feed screw, so that when the' latch member is pivoted upon actuation of the koperating extension thereon, the serrations on the latch member are disengaged from the threads on the feed screw and rapid nonrotative longitudinal movement of the feed screw toward and `away from theI fixed jaw may be obtained, and when the serrations on thev latch member are` in engagement with the threads of the feed screw the same may be rotatably fed and retracted toward and away from the :fixed jaw by means of the operating handle, a ball member carried by the inner end of said feed screw, a combined work piece clamping and electrical connecting block having a flat work piece engaging surface at one end and a ball receiving yextension socket at the other end, the ball carried by the inner end of the feed screw being rotatably secured in the extension socket, said block also having an aperture extending therethrough from side to side transversely of the longitudinal axis of the feed screw, a, terminal REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 71,983 Coe et a1. Dec. 10, 1867 809,882 Wrigley Jan. 9, 1906 2,086,784 Taylor July 13, 1937 2,120,447 Tipsord June 19, 1938 2,420,895 Merriman May 20, 1947 

